Water Pollution

Our liquid planet glows like a soft blue sap-phire in the hard-edged darkness of space. There is nothing else like it in the solar sys-tem. It is because of water.
– John Todd

Water is the essential element that makes life on earth possible. Without wa-ter there would be no life. We usually take wa-ter for granted. It flows from our taps when they are turned on. Most of us are able to bathe when we want to, swim when we choose and water our gardens. Like good health we ignore water when we have it. Although 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water only a tiny fraction of this water is avail-able to us as fresh water. About 97% of the total water available on earth is found in oceans and is too salty for drinking or irrigation. The remaining 3% is fresh water. Of this 2.997% is locked in ice caps or glaciers. Thus only 0.003% of the earth’ total volume of water is easily avail-able to us as soil moisture, groundwater, water vapour and water in lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands.

In short if the world’s water supply were only 100 litres our usable supply of fresh water would be only about 0.003 litres (one-half teaspoon). This makes water a very precious resource. The future wars in our world may well be fought over water. By the middle of this century, almost twice as many people will be trying to share the same amount of fresh water the earth has today. As freshwater becomes more scarce access to water resources will be a major factor in determining the economic growth of several countries around the world.

Water availability on the planet: Water that is found in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs is called surface water. Water that percolates into the ground and fills the pores in soil and rock is called groundwater.

Porous water-saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which ground water flows are called aquifers. Most aquifers are replenished naturally by rainfall that percolates down-ward through the soil and rock. This process is called natural recharge. If the withdrawal rate of an aquifer exceeds its natural recharge rate, the water table is lowered. Any pollutant that is discharged onto the land above is also pulled into the aquifer and pollutes the groundwater resulting in polluted water in the nearby wells.

When the quality or composition of water changes directly or indirectly as a result of man’s activities such that it becomes unfit for any purpose it is said to be polluted. Point sources of pollution: When a source of pollution can be readily identified because it has a definite source and place where it enters the water it is said to come from a point source. Eg. Municipal and Industrial Discharge Pipes.

When a source of pollution cannot be readily identified, such as agricultural runoff, acid rain, etc, they are said to be non-point sources of pollution.